Melanie Martinez has taken the world by storm with her latest metamorphosis. As her third album, PORTALS, dominated the charts and social media trends, her sold-out tour has been one that fans have anticipated and yearned for greatly.
Martinez, an alt-pop icon, shows that while her image might change from album to album, her ability to captivate listeners and viewers alike is something critical to her artistry. Martinez debuted her new era at Lollapalooza Argentina, Lollapalooza Chile, Bogota, Columbia’s Estéreo Picnic, and Lollapalooza Brazil, and has been showcasing her character, “Crybaby,” throughout her concept album trilogy in her final form. Crybaby has ascended from the grave as something far more otherworldly, with bubblegum pink skin and a form of the fae dimension.
PORTALS is Martinez’s highest Top 10 debut at the number 2 position, with her debut and sophomore albums “Cry Baby” and “K-12” debuting at #6 and #3, respectively. As a conclusion to the “Cry Baby” trilogy started by Martinez in 2015, “Portals” gives the next part of Crybaby’s story once again going along with Martinez’s remarkable ability to tell a cohesive and continuous story through music. Check out what we had to say about the tour!
Bay Area singer songwriter Tanukichan opened the concert. Led by the talented singer and songwriter Hannah Van Loon, Tanukichan’s performance was a masterful blend of dreamy vocals, melodic guitar loops, and atmospheric soundscapes. The band effortlessly navigated through their discography, treating fans to a cover of “Thank You” by the 90’s band, Dido. From the moment the first chord was struck to the final note fading into the night, Tanukichan made for quite the opener.
Portals is the third album of the singer’s series of records telling the story of a character of her creation. This particular album focuses on afterlife and rebirth. Martinez appeared in character, wearing her four eyed prosthetic and a crown woven dress adorned with vines. A fair number of fans dressed in likeness, many donning ears, wings or dresses to match her ethereal, faerie-like pink character. Melanie Martinez is in the early stages of her Portals World Tour, in which she is playing her latest release, PORTALS, from front to back. For the Sacramento concert, fans lined up all along the sides of the building, some standing there for hours waiting to get their spot on the floor or to their seats. As the doors opened, fans were greeted by an otherworldly atmosphere. The stage was framed with a giant butterfly, lined with dangling moss. A giant screen sat in the background, which brought individual unique visuals for each song. Excitement filled the air as the audience eagerly awaited the start of the show, knowing they were about to embark on a one-of-a-kind experience.
Hundreds of phones shot up in the crowd as a single lit candle popped up on the giant screen. A high pitched voice spoke of which I could only catch the tail end of, which said, “We find a light, within our void, the evolution will never end. A portal opened and in that moment we were all one and we were infinite.”
Opening the night with “DEATH” and “VOID”, the fans screamed along with each song, the visual nature of the performance, fused with the dark and dramatic interludes, created a natural flow. Martinez was joined with four backup dancers, adorned in mossy burlap sack looking suits and a full band that included a theremin(an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer), which was amazing to see played live. The stage evolved with each song, like for “SPIDERWEBS” a giant web was hung up behind the performers, as they danced. Inflatable mushrooms grew along the sides for “FAERIE SOIREE”. The stage took a dark green glow, with the sounds of frogs and crickets for “LEECHES”. Confetti shot to the sky, filling the hall, during “WOMB,” before Martinez returned to the stage for her encore. Ending the night with not one but three encore songs from her deluxe version of the album, white dots adorned the tops of the mushrooms as she played “ POWDER”, “PLUTO” and “MILK OF THE SIREN”.
If you haven’t already, check out the PORTALS album on all listening platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. If you want to see the rest of the photos taken by Helana Michelle, click this link HERE for the full set!
No Comment! Be the first one.